Bear Injures Hiker at Yellowstone National Park in Surprise Encounter

[Coventina]

A bear injured a 29-year-old man who was hiking alone at Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday afternoon, the first such episode there in more than four years.

In what park officials called a “surprise encounter,” the hiker was on Turbid Lake Trail near Yellowstone Lake when the bear appeared, according to a statement from Yellowstone National Park. He used bear spray on the animal when it made contact with him, but it injured his chest and left arm.

National Park Service medics responded and the man was flown to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the park said. It added that the trail would be closed indefinitely and that the park’s bear management staff would sweep the area to make sure no other hikers were on the trail.

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“Because this incident was a defensive reaction by the bear during a surprise encounter, the park will not be taking any management action against the bear,” the park said in the statement.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/us/bear-yellowstone-park-injures-hiker.html?

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Glad to hear the bear will not be euthanized.